Unintentional Love
by Ruel-chan
Summary: Sometimes you don't fall in love with the person you intended. Sometimes you go from hating someone, to befriending them, to falling in love with them. Love is unexpected. NaruSaku. AU.
1. People I Hate

**Hey, you! You person who's reading this! This is a NaruSaku story, and if you like that goodness, then here's a story for ya! **

…

**Randomness 8D**

…**is maybe the key word for this story. Wait. It's probably the key word for all of my stories. **

**Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine (with the exception of the girls that are never named.)**

* * *

**Unintentional Love**

**Chapter 1: People I Hate**

* * *

It was yet another school day at Leaf Secondary School. The cherry blossoms made a path, which led you to the school's main entrance. Like every other school day, this was the road I took to enter the school, go down the halls before I turned left, walk up the stairs, and then go left again. The third door led into my classroom. When I opened the door, loud voices and laughs hit me straight in the face. It was an oh-so-normal day. Our loud class seemed to have only increased in volume each year.

This was the last year of lower secondary school**(1)**, and in all honesty, I couldn't wait to be done. However, that thought probably ran in everyone's mind. After almost three years together – some had even spent more time together than that – people were ready to rip each other's throats out. It was especially a couple of faces I could do well without.

One of them being a certain blonde haired pig with so much makeup on it could practically be called a mask. She was the most annoying girl I had ever met, and she persistently called us 'rivals'. A rival is someone that's somehow competition. However, I refused to look at her as competition. She was perhaps more beautiful than me – under all the layers of foundation – but I had the brains.

Oh, yes. I had _the _brains. My grades were the second best in my class, and the best of all the girls. Only Sasuke had better grades.  
Oh, Sasuke. How I loved him so. He was my prince on a white horse, the light in my grey surroundings, and he was flawless. I sighed at the sight of him.

"Don't stare at my boyfriend with those disgusting eyes," someone said behind me. Great, demon girl was here. She walked past me, and sat down at her seat that unfairly was right beside Sasuke. However, she made sure to turn her head my way to leave a second remark.

"Why don't you sit down at your seat? Way over there," she said, and pointed across the classroom. Yes, across the classroom in the back. Because everyone hated me, even life, my seat was nearly as far away from Sasuke as I could get. He, Ino, and Shikamaru sat in the second row near the blackboard. I, however, had to sit at the farthest back together with Shino and Kiba. While my seat was in the row closest to the door, Sasuke sat in the row beside the windows. I knitted my brows, and gave Ino my best glare. She ignored me, and turned to Sasuke.

"Say, Sasuke. I don't understand the math at all. Can you help me after school?" Ino asked. I snorted.

"Yeah, you probably need that," I said. Ino quickly turned her head around.

"Yes, actually. I do." She turned her head again. "Please?" she asked him. As usually, there was no response. Of course, that made me smile. Ino noticed this, and squinted her eyes.

"What are _you_ smiling for? Found a way to get rid of that enormous forehead?" she spat. Ouch. Straight in the gut. Before I could come up with a comeback, the bell rang. I went to my seat, but thought of all sorts of comebacks I could say later. Shortly after, the teacher arrived.

"Man, I can't wait until upper secondary school**(2)**. I heard the teachers come at least 10 minutes late**(3)**. Here they're always on time. So sick of this," Kiba said to Shino.

"Hm, funny. I thought you knew the teachers are supposed to be on time," Shino said, "just like the students."

Kiba glared at him for making him seem stupid.

"I know, OK? It's just… School sucks," Kiba said.

"Or you suck in school," I murmured. Kiba's head shot my way.

"Oh, yeah? Well, you self-righteous-" The rest of the sentence was cut of by the teacher, who demanded attention. The teacher scanned the classroom, and said she was pretty sure of who wasn't there. Nevertheless, she went through the class list. When she came to the last person, she sighed.

"Seems there's no Uzumaki on time today either. Oh, well."

"Obviously Naruto doesn't know we're supposed to be on time either," Shino whispered.

"Oh, shut up," Kiba said loudly. The teacher shot him a glare, which he responded by looking down at his desk.

Naruto Uzumaki. The second person I could do _really_ well without seeing for the rest of my life. If Ino was persistent and annoying, I didn't even know what to say about him. Sometimes I wondered if my hate for Ino and Naruto had to do with their similar traits. Not only did both of their behaviour irk me, they even had the same appearance. Blonde hair and blue eyes. Oh, and they were both stupid looking. To top it all, Naruto had been clinging to me since we were in elementary school.

I had no idea what made him think I would even consider him. He was a prankster and he was vulgar. In comparison to Sasuke, who was always keeping his cool, Naruto was like a ball of energy I had no control over at all. Sasuke was intellectual, quiet, athletic, and pretty much perfect at anything he did. Not to mention, his looks were inhumanely good. He had long, slender fingers that were prettier than any girl's I had ever seen. My own fingers looked like sausages in comparison with his. There was a reason why he held the interest of most girls that saw him. Sasuke was simply perfection.

Naruto, however, seemed to be the complete opposite of Sasuke. Except for his athletic skills, he didn't really have much to offer. Besides, he wasn't as good as Sasuke in sports either. He was awfully blunt, and acting before thinking seemed to be his motto. It wasn't as if he was ugly, but he certainly wasn't beautiful. Especially not compared to Sasuke.

I glanced at Sasuke. Ino still appeared to crave his attention, which she to my joy didn't get. It was irritating how she always went around and claimed that Sasuke was her boyfriend. He didn't even _talk_ to her. Well, he didn't talk much at all. Irksomely enough, Naruto was the one to get the most responses out of him.

"You've gone from only glancing at him to downright staring at him," Kiba whispered, and dragged me out of my own world. Realisation hit me that I had barely kept any attention to what happened in front of the classroom.

"Have I missed something important?" I whispered to Kiba.

"How would I know? It was funnier to look at you drooling than to learn about crime," he answered, and smirked. Immediately I touched the side of my mouth. No drool. My glare didn't seem to stop his smirking. Suddenly a loud noise was heard from the hall. It sounded like someone crashed, and fell over something.

"Ow, what was-" a loud voice said, "Who put those boxes there?" Not long after, the door opened. The teacher gave the boy a disapproved look. With a sheepish grin on his face, he scratched the back of his head.

"The boxes, they were in the way," he said, as if that was an excuse for being late.

"Uzumaki, you finally found it worth joining us today. Sit," the teacher said in a stern voice. Inconveniently for me, Naruto's seat was right in front of Kiba, which meant I sat diagonally from him. After doing as the teacher had said, he turned around.

"Sakura, good morning!" he said with a bright smile. Hoping it would shut him up, I ignored him. His eyes kept looking at me for a few more seconds, before he turned to Kiba. They started chatting about video games and what not. The teacher, who was as sick of us as we were of the school, didn't care to comment on it.

* * *

Three days after, something that would change things quite a bit happened. The day before this event, I had a bicker with Ino. 'Bicker' was perhaps an understatement, considering it was probably the reason why the "event" the next day actually happened. I was having lunch with two girls in my class. They sat with me in the back of the classroom**(4)**. One sat in Kiba's seat, and the other sat on a chair in front of my desk. We were currently discussing the topic of Naruto Uzumaki.

"Ugh, can you believe we've had to survive having that kid around for over two and a half years?" the one in Kiba's seat said. She flipped her long, brown hair.

"I know!" the other one said in a high-pitched voice. She looked at me sympathetically. "Poor, Sakura. You've been in the same class as him since first grade. You must look so much forward to get rid of him," she added. The brunette nodded, and said she felt sorry for me. I sighed in a dramatic fashion, and rested my chin on my hands.

"You know, I only want to live a peaceful life," I said. My eyes squinted. "But that dimwit ruins it all." The two girls seemed a bit nervous at my sudden hateful tone.

"W-we totally get you," the brunette said. I only continued with my rant.

"Every time I try to have a conversation with Sasuke, he comes and does, or says something stupid," I said. To this, the two girls looked at each other. It was no secret that they also had a crush on Sasuke, so to have sympathy for me because of that was rather hard for them.

"Oh, and let's not forget about _Ino_," I spat.

"Why shouldn't we forget about me?" My head rose to look at the owner of the voice. There stood Ino in all her glory. While I contemplated on whether I should ignore her or give her some snarky comment, the brunette already beat me to it.

"You act like Sasuke's yours. How do you even dare? It's not like you're especially pretty either. Right, Sakura?" She turned to me expectantly. My dramatic sigh indicated that I was without any hope for Ino.

"Yeah, if only pigs knew where they belong," I said. Ino snarled.

"Please. I might not have the brains that you have, but I'm definitely more beautiful than any of you three will ever be," she said. The three girls, whom she had entered the room with, agreed with her.

"So you admit that you're an idiot?" I asked tauntingly. "You expect you're going to marry a rich guy or something? 'Cause you'll certainly not get any high paid job with your intelligence, which, for your information, doesn't exist."

"Underestimate me as much as you like. No matter what you say, I'm going to marry Sasuke!"

"Why would Sasuke marry a stupid girl? You're not fit for him!"

"Sasuke would be embarrassed to be seen with an ugly girl like you!"

"At least I know how to divide numbers!"

"At least I know how embarrassing it is to show that humongous forehead. If I had had such a forehead, I would've known better than to show it to the whole world!"

"Then why did you give me that stupid, red hairband?" I said angrily.

"I dunno! Sympathy maybe? You sat there crying like a pitiful dog that no one wanted!"

"Well, I wish you had never talked to me! I wish you had never existed in my life!" I paused before I yelled out one last sentence.

"I wish you were dead!" I yelled. Immediately after I said that last sentence, the classroom became totally quiet. Not even a breath was heard. It was as if everyone held their breath, wondering what would come next. What _did_ come next shocked me. Even though she wasn't crying, I could see Ino's eyes were glistening like she was about to cry.

"Well," she started, "I guess I should've never befriended you." Her voice was shaky as she spoke. "You ungrateful little bastard!" Ino quickly turned her heals and walked out the door. The door was shut with a loud bang. No one dared to speak before the bell rang, signalising that lunchtime was over. The two girls I had lunch with quickly retreated to their own seats.

* * *

The next day after school was when it happened. I was one of the last to leave the classroom, and it surprised me that someone called my name when I walked out the classroom door. Ino was standing there with a hand on her right hip. There was no doubt she had something to tell me, and I didn't have a good feeling about it. After asking her what she wanted, she hinted that I had to follow her. Ino led me behind the gym, where she eyed me calculatingly.

"Look. It's time we solve this once and for all," Ino said. My whole face was a question mark. After a few seconds of silence, I finally opened my mouth.

"You want us to fight? Wow, Ino. I know you don't have the brains, but you should know I can kick your arse," I said. Before I was even done saying this, she rolled her eyes.

"No," she said, "I have a better plan." Her smile was cunning, and I liked this Ino less than the normal one.

"How about making a bet," she said. I thought it sounded dumb.

"A bet? A bet about what?" I asked.

"A bet about whom, you mean. A bet…about Sasuke," she answered. See, _now_ we were talking.

"You can spare me your lame, dramatic pauses. Spill the beans," I said.

"Impatient," she grumbled, "but whatever." Ino told me what the bet was about, and I listened. Man, did I have a bad feeling about this.

* * *

**That was it for the first chapter! If you liked it, stay tuned for the next one! **

**Some explanations:**

**(1)**** = in my country, lower secondary school is from 8****th**** to 10****th**** grade. So they are in 10****th**** grade (meaning they are in their 16****th**** year, considering the story is placed in the last school semester.)**

**(2)**** = upper secondary school is 11****th**** to 13****th**** grade (though we don't call it that, but whatever. It's easier for me to call it that way.)**

**(3)**** = it's not like this is the norm in my country. Ha-ha, just wanted to clear that up. Though I must admit, some teachers really use that long time to get to class (but this isn't more normal in lower secondary school than upper.)**

**(4) =** **by now you probably understand that I've based a lot of the school stuff on my own country (because I don't know how things work other places, at least not in detail, and I didn't want to do a lot of research on this fan fiction. Besides, I kind of like it this way.) Anyway, in my country we** **don't have cafeterias in lower secondary school. Some have in upper though, I think. **

**I just want to make it clear that even though I used the school system from my country, it doesn't mean that the story is placed there. I guess it's not placed in any specific country, or universe for that matter. It's not in the Naruto universe though. Just wanted to clear that up in case someone got confused! ^_^**

**Also, I'm sorry for making Ino like that. I know she had the best grades in the Ninja Academy, but that wouldn't have worked here. **

**Thank you for reading! **

**Lots of love, **

**Ruel-chan**


	2. A Stupid Bet

**Here's the second chapter! Hope you'll like it! Thanks for reviewing, following and favouriting (is that even a word?)! **

**(The part written in _italics_ is a flash back from when Ino and Sakura talked about the bet.)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sakura, Ino, Sasuke, Kiba or Naruto.**

* * *

Unintentional Love

Chapter 2: A Stupid Bet

* * *

I couldn't sleep. Ino's words from earlier still lingered on my mind, and I couldn't believe I had let myself get riled up in the moment.

"_So," she said, "it's a bet about Sasuke, which basically means whoever loses must stay away from him forever. 'Kay?" The idea of never seeing her claws over him ever again was tempting, however, the tone of her voice and the atmosphere told me that the bet wasn't such a good idea. _

"_I don't have any problems with what the prize of the bet is. I'm more concerned about what we actually have to do," I said. _

_She smirked. _"_Oh, don't worry. This should be rather easy for you. All you have to do is to get closer to Naruto at the field trip we have in a week. You make him believe you're actually interested in him. Actually, you'll make it seem like you're in love with him. By the bonfire, which the teachers have talked about, you'll make him believe you'll kiss. Then, in front of everyone, you'll pretend he's harassing you, which will make everyone hate him." _

_I didn't have any problems with seeing Naruto suffer. To get Ino away from Sasuke and to get rid of the annoying brat Naruto in one go was tempting indeed. However, overthinking everything as always, I didn't trust her. _

"_Why are you talking as if I'm the only one doing this?" I asked. _

"_Of course I have to do it as well. I can't win otherwise, now can I?"_

"_And why would you make such a bet when I obviously have the advantage? It's me he likes," I said. _

"_Your haughtiness is disgusting. To change his heart, can it be so hard? He's already giving you less attention. I'm sure he's already falling out of love," Ino said. Her statement made me a bit shocked, however, I realised she was right. Naruto had usually talked to me non stop when he arrived at school. Sometimes he was even told to go to the principal's office because he wouldn't stop talking. Lately though, he usually turned away from me after I ignored him. I'd only got a 'good morning'. The fact that Ino was actually right made me slightly irritated. I couldn't believe she was so sure she could actually catch his attention. _

"_I still find the bet stupid. Don't consider me to be a part of it," I said. I was about to turn away, but yet again she said something that made me hesitate.  
"So you're scared?" Ino snorted. "Of course you are. You would've lost anyway." I tightened my fists. That brat!_

"_You're probably not able to get anyone's attention. I mean, even Naruto will be disgusted by you when he sees how you really are." Her last sentence made me wonder, because I couldn't really remember ever showing him a good side of me. It still angered me that she degraded me like that. _

"_So what do you say, Sakura? Deal?" Ino said with a sly smile adorning her face. _

"_Fine, deal," I said. That stupid smirk on her face._

* * *

The day of the field trip came. We were supposed to meet outside the school at nine o'clock. I anxiously waited to see if an overly energetic boy with blond hair and blue eyes would show up. My fingers were crossed in hope that he didn't. As always, luck wasn't on my side. A list of why this bet was a good idea was hard to make, but I desperately tried to make one anyway. If I won, Ino wouldn't be allowed to even talk to Sasuke except if he spoke to her first. My dream to catch Sasuke's attention would be one step closer. However, it seemed that it was much easier to make a list as to why this _wasn't_ a good idea.

First of all, I would have to degrade myself to speak to Naruto after all these years of ignoring him and saying mean things to him. Instead of having a good time at the field trip with friends, I'd have to hang around him like a cleg. _If_ I lost, I was the one who had to stay away from Sasuke. My dream would then go in the drain. Also, I wasn't good at contacting people. Usually others talked to me first, however, now I had to take the initiative. Naruto was chatting with Kiba and Sasuke when I walked up to him. The fact that Sasuke stood there made things even worse. What if he thought I really liked Naruto?

"Naruto," I said to catch his attention. He turned his head my way immediately. Girls normally didn't talk to him, especially not me.

"Sakura?" he said puzzled. I gave him the cutest smile I had while brushing strands of my hair behind my ear. I could see his cheeks slightly reddened.

"So, are you looking forward to the trip?" I asked. Still confused, he just stared at me for a couple of seconds.

"Y-yeah, sure…" he finally answered. Kiba looked at me with just as confused eyes as Naruto, only his contained suspicion too. Typical of him to be overprotective. Not that he didn't have a reason to considering I really was going to trick his friend. Sasuke left pretty much as soon as I arrived.

I could see Ino arriving about 60 metres away. This was bad. Ino was way more physical than I was. She would always cling to Sasuke, and I doubted she would be more timid now. I gulped nervously. Slowly I reached my hand out to touch Naruto's cheek. At this point, all I could was to be the first one to show some sort of interest in him.

"Wow, you have some unbelievable scars. So fascinating," I said while stroking the scars. His cheeks reddened even more than before. "It's cute," I added. Naruto's face was practically on fire now.

"S-Sakura," he said. His hand grabbed my wrist. My eyes suddenly went wide. Realising how close we really were, I panicked. Without even thinking, my other hand made a fist that punched him right in the gut. Immediately he crouched on the ground. OK, maybe I should revise the not being physical thing. I was obviously a very physical girl—just not in the same way as Ino. Kiba's eyes stared at me in shock and anger.

"What was that for?" he shouted. However, before he could help his friend, Ino was already there. She bent down to Naruto's level and stroke his back lovingly.

"Oh no, that must've hurt! Are you OK?" she asked with fake concern. Naruto nodded while holding his stomach. Ino looked at me aghast.

"Sakura! This is what we've been talking about. You should learn how to control that anger! Have you gone to the therapist you were appointed to?" she asked. Kiba and Naruto gave me weird looks and I could only gape. She was trying to make it seem look like I had uncontrollable anger issues? Instead of coming up with something cruel about Ino, I reached my hand out to Naruto.

"Sorry, Naruto," I said with a sugarcoated voice. "I'm reaaaally sorry." After giving me sceptic look, he took my hand and I helped him up. I took a step closer to him, but he backed away. Ino's smirk was impossible not to notice. She really knew how to make me mad, and that made me go even angrier.

The field trip was a one-night sleepover in the woods, which meant we all had to sleep in tents. Even though camping wasn't something that bothered me, I didn't like how unhygienic it felt to only wash in a river that I had no change of knowing what contained. Who knew what had been in there. I liked clean, sanitary showers. Luckily I wouldn't have to think about that until next morning.

* * *

When we arrived at the place we were camping, everyone got the task to set up the tents. Basically it meant that the boys showed off, while the girls complained that they were so weak and only stood beside and watched. I had no excuse though, because no one would believe me if I squealed and told them I was too weak. It wouldn't even look cute. Therefore, I had to be one of the men at the moment, and help with one of the tents. Conveniently I chose the one Naruto helped with too.

"So, Naruto," I stood right next to him while fixing one of the poles, "have you camped a lot?" My question was a desperate try to start a conversation, and I could feel my cheeks heat up at the stupid attempt. He had a surprised look on his face again. Man, was it really that hard to believe I was talking to him? I inwardly slapped myself. Of course it was. That would be like Sasuke suddenly striking a conversation with me, which would make me incredibly happy, but was seemingly impossible.

"Yeah, I have actually. My godfather and I often go camping," he answered.

"That seems nice," was all I could respond with. I had to admit this conversation was a stupid idea. I had no plan on what to say next, and the awkwardness was unbearable. Naruto didn't say anything either. Was he too shocked to say something? Before he would always talk non stop about ramen and other silly things. Ino's words replayed in my head. _I'm sure he's already falling out of love. _It made me angry that she was right. It was like he had already given up. I squinted my eyes. He who used to brag about how he never gave up!

"Idiot," I mumbled.

"What?" I could hear Naruto say next to me. My hand flew up to my mouth. Had I really said that out loud?

"O-Oh, I weren't talking about you!" Why was I stuttering? "I thought about something on the news this morning." Phew, I managed to come up with a lie. Suddenly Naruto shouted out loud.

"Oh!" I looked weirdly at him. "Was it about that man that got beat up by that woman when he waltzed in the woman's wardrobe to assault her, but he didn't know she was a professional boxer?" he asked excitedly. I could only stare dumbly at him. What kind of news did he watch?

"Y-yeah, that one," I responded. Apparently the same kind that I watched.

"Man, that was hilarious," he mumbled with a snicker. "I loved it though. I love strong women. Like you," he said. I let go of the things I held in my hands. Naruto also stopped pressing the plugs down in the grass and just stared at whatever was in front of him. His cheeks were really red.

He coughed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean…" So he did still love me. Somehow that made me want to find Ino and rub it in her face. A smirk adorned me face, hidden behind my hair to not reveal myself. Sasuke would definitely be mine. Replacing the smirk with a soft smile, I bend down to his level and put my hand over his. His eyes quickly shot my way.

"Naruto," I said softly, "that makes me really happy to hear." I then stood up, and turned to leave. Right before I left I turned to him and said, "See you later." Judging by the look at his face, he was definitely captivated.

* * *

I got plenty of other chances to charm him. A couple of people were picked out to find wood for the bonfire, and I volunteered when Naruto got picked. I used every change I got to scream at the sight of a bug and cling to his arm. Every time a blush adorned his face. When we could hang out doing whatever we wanted, I would follow him around, much to Kiba's annoyance.

"Why are you following us around?" Kiba asked, glaring at me.

"Don't you want to hang out with your seatmate?" I innocently asked with as many blinks with my eyes as possible. He gave me a disgusted look.

"No," was his honest reply. Naruto laughed an obvious fake laughter and pinched Kiba's arm.

"Ow!" Kiba yelped. He rubbed his arm, probably a little offended.

"It's nice having her here, right, _Kiba_?" he said with a slight growl at his name.

Kiba gritted his teeth. "Naruto, can I have a word, please?"

"Sure," Naruto answered, but didn't move from where he stood.

"_Without_ her around?" Wow, way to show love, Kiba. He really hated me. Naruto sighed, but let Kiba lead him away from where they had currently stood. I could see them hide behind some of the trees. That was perfect for me though, because it meant I could hide and eavesdrop. When I got close enough to hear what they were saying, I bent down and listened.

"-rusting her! Of course we can trust her!" Naruto said.

"You're so dumb and blinded by love! She has ignored you since she met you! How can you say she's trustable?" Kiba asked.

"I…" Naruto didn't complete his sentence.

"You're foolishly in love with her is what you are," Kiba huffed. His voice lowered a bit. "And did you see how she swayed her hips earlier by the tents? She's obviously trying to trap you like a fly in a spider's web!"

"_Why_ would she want to do that?" Naruto asked sceptically.

"I don't know…" Kiba admitted.

"I'm not as clingy anymore. Maybe she only ignored me because I was clingy," Naruto suggested. I could hear Kiba make a sceptic sound. When I head they moved towards where I was sitting, I quickly got up and back to where they were before. I smiled a cute smile when they approached me.

"Is everything OK?" I asked sweetly.

"Everything's good," Naruto said with a grin. It looked like Kiba had other thoughts, but he didn't say anything.

We walked back to the tents. The teachers had already made the bonfire. The day had become evening, and the place looked pretty idyllic with the talking teachers, laughing teenagers and the crackling bonfire. I spotted Ino on the other side of the fire. Next to her sat a raven. Sasuke. The scene angered me. When I came to think about it, where had Ino been throughout the day? Not once had I seen her approaching Naruto. It wasn't like I wanted her to be around Naruto and win, but the fact that she didn't even try made the whole bet seem fishy. With angry steps I walked up to her.

"Sakura," she said, acknowledging my presence. Her smirk irked me.

"Have you already given up?" I asked her. She arched an eyebrow. "Are you clinging to life now that you know you'll soon die?" First, Ino looked at me like I was crazy, but when she realised what I meant, she smirked.

"No, since I'm immortal, I don't really worry about death," she replied.

"So you really think you'll win life?" I scoffed.

"Think?" she laughed, "I know." We glared at each other, electricity sparked between our eyes. I noticed Sasuke had left when I broke Ino's glare. Suddenly Ino started waving to someone behind me.

"Naruto!" she called. She jumped up from her seat and rushed over to him. I gaped when she clung to his arm. Why was he blushing? Anyway, I had to do something quickly before she got any ideas into his head. She would _not_ win Sasuke. Ino whispered something in Naruto's ear, which made his whole face flush. That rotten witch. I strode up to them and pried her hands off him. With a growl, I held unto Naruto. I then looked up at Naruto and smiled softly.

"Naruto, won't you sit with me?" I asked. My question was packed with honey and sugar.

"Sure!" he answered a little too excited. I could hear Kiba groan beside him.

"I thought we got rid of her," he mumbled, which made my eye twitch, but I had a much more important task at hand. Leaving Ino behind, unaware of her smirk, I entwined my hand with Naruto's, and found a nice place for us to sit. I would definitely win this bet. The only problem now was the mutt. How was I going to get rid of Kiba? It would be hard to pretend Naruto assaulted me with him glaring at us every minute. I leaned over to Naruto and whispered in his ear.

"Don't you think you can get rid of Kiba? I want us to be…_alone_," I whispered. With a gulp, Naruto turned to Kiba and nudged his shoulder.

"Hey, Kiba. Would you mind leaving us alone?" he asked. Kiba gave me a good, long glare before he stood upright.

"Fine, but don't come crying to me," he mumbled. I secretly smirked when he left. _Perfect_.

* * *

As the evening unwrapped, and more and more people crowded around the bonfire, I thought of when the perfect timing would be to carry out the plan. At the moment everybody sang, so no one would hear me scream anyway. Honestly, I started doubting the plan, too. Would people believe I was assaulted when I had been clinging to him all day? I could only hope they would. Besides, people usually took the girls side on stuff like this. No worries, I told myself. Naruto had been happily chatting with me for as long as we had sat there. My focus on what he had said hadn't been that great though, however, I noticed he was really passionate about the things he liked. Like ramen for instance. It was impossible for me to count how many times he had said 'ramen'.

The singing started quieting down. I noticed Ino a few metres away. She was staring at me intently, and I wondered if she contemplated on approaching us. I wouldn't let that happen. If she interrupted, things would get more complicated.

"Sakura, is everything alright?" Naruto asked, his voice full of concern.

"No, Naruto, not exactly…" I inched closer to him. He blushed when I nearly sat on his lap. My own cheeks started heating up by being so close to another guy, but I suppressed the blush as much as I could. My eyes stared into his, and he audibly gulped.

The next sentence made me cringe inside. "I've pretended to hate you for so long, but I can't keep it a secret anymore," I said.

"What secret?" Naruto asked. He wasn't able to break his eyes from mine.

"That I…to you," I said. I could see his eyes flickered from my eyes to my lips. It was hard not to grin. This was going too perfectly. If I had stopped to really think about it at that moment, I would maybe have realised what that meant; that it really went _too_ perfect. His face neared mine; his lips so close that his warm breath warmed my slightly cold nose. Naruto was about to kiss me, and I was about to scream. However, we both were interrupted by the squeals and shouts from another person.

"Kyaaa!" someone squealed. "Naruto and Sakura are almost kissing!" Instantly our faces backed away from each other. The flushed face of Naruto made me realise my own face was just as red. That rotten witch. That rotten witch Ino. When I looked around, I realised nearly everyone was staring at us. Some people were giggling, others—people who knew who we both were—murmured to each other.

"Wow, Sakura, since you always ignored him or punched him, I thought you hated him," Ino smirked. "Luckily I was wrong. You're so cute together!"

"Wait, we're not—" The two girls I usually had lunch with interrupted me.

"Sakura, that's so lame. You always badmouthed him, and now you're suddenly in love?"

"But we're not!" I said.

"I'm so happy for you, Sakura! You told me you were over Sasuke and had a new crush," Ino looked at Naruto, "but I had no idea it was him." Naruto's eyes looked surprised, and his eyes shone of happiness when he looked at me. Ew. Did he really think I would ever like him?

"But I don't like him!" I insisted.

"There's no need to hide it anymore, Sakura," Ino smirked. That stupid bet. I knew there was something fishy about it. She had planned this all along; to make it seem like Naruto and I were an item. I rose up in anger.

"I don't like him!" I yelled.

"Sakura, if you keep denying it, you'll hurt Naruto," Ino said with fake care. I noticed Sasuke in the background. He was staring at us like all the others. Did he think it was true too? That I loved Naruto? I gritted my teeth.

"I don't care if he's hurt or not! I don't care about him at all! I love Sasuke!" I yelled.

"Then why did you nearly kiss Naruto? Don't you love him?" one of the lunch girls asked.

"No, I don't! I don't!" I yelled. "I hate him!"

"Wow, Sakura, you really hate a lot of people," Ino said in a dull voice. Her eyes were slightly squinted and there was a growing feeling in them. Hate. I flinched. Those eyes were full of contempt, and when I looked around, I noticed that so were the other people's eyes too. I didn't dare to look at Naruto. If only this moment would pass. My eyes were closed, and I could feel tears begging to fall down my cheeks. This was so humiliating.

* * *

The next months were painful. I didn't care about getting new friends, not now that lower secondary school was soon over. There would be a lot of the same people in upper secondary, I was aware of that, however, at least there would be some new faces. Also, some old ones would disappear. I knew the two lunch girls had chosen a different school than mine. That was a huge relief, because they had been awfully mean to me after the field trip. Now they followed Ino everywhere. Damn followers. They couldn't survive without some sort of leader.

Unfortunately for me, I would still attend the same school as Ino. Sasuke, too, which didn't make me sad, but I wasn't sure what I felt about him anymore. It was as if my feelings had disappeared that night by the bonfire. Honestly, the biggest pain in my ass was the fact that Kiba would attend the same school as me. Even though I hadn't talked to, or even looked at, Naruto since I told the whole grade that I hated him—basically telling them that I tricked him at the same time—Kiba wouldn't let it go.

He had asked if he could change seats, lying to the teacher that he had troubles seeing the blackboard. He never even paid attention to what the teachers said. He would glare at me when I walked past him. Sometimes he even tripped me. It was bordering bullying! Still, I couldn't blame him. I had deceived his friend, and that the time I had done it, I hadn't felt any guilt at all. Naruto was no concern of mine. Now I felt a little bad. Maybe because I knew myself how it felt to be treated like shit.

When the last day of school ended, I couldn't be happier. Finally two months away from everyone. It was a bit sad though, since I didn't have anyone to spend the summer with.

At least I thought I would spend it alone, until I met a blond and a brunette at the library.

* * *

_**To be continued.**_

**Sakura has now hurt Naruto and she's friendless. How will summer vacation go? Stay tuned!**

**(And thank you so much for reading!)**


	3. Hated By a Mutt

**Heeey! Ü**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.**

**16.05.2013: Please scroll down and read the author's note! **

* * *

Unintentional Love

Chapter 3: Hated By a Mutt

* * *

The terrible last months of school were over, and I could finally sleep in as long as I wanted. It wasn't as if I had a reason to wake up anyway. Not now that I had no friends to spend the summer vacation with. I groaned and hid my face in my pillow. It didn't matter if I wanted to sleep long either. At nine o'clock there seemed to be an inwardly alarm clock that woke me up if I hadn't already.

My bare feet met with the wooden floor. Time to find something to do. My mother had suggested that I could spend some time on the beach with my friends. I had no plans on telling my mom that I had no one to spend time with anywhere, so I had just nodded and smiled.

I stepped into the shower. There had to be _something_ I could do. When I had _had_ friends, there was always something I didn't have time to do. Now that I was alone, I couldn't come up with anything that I had wanted to do. Maybe I should be one of those people that would lock themselves in their room the whole summer and play computer games? I sighed. Not only would I probably gain a lot of weight by doing that—and that was the last thing I needed—my parents would become worried.

After showering, and all the other morning necessities, I walked down the stairs, and into the kitchen. Both of my parents were at work, and I had the whole house for myself. That only made me feel more lonely though. I slammed my fist in the kitchen counter. As the prideful girl I was, I refused to sit around and turn to ashes. Since I was friendless, it was the perfect time to become more intelligent. Others could hang on the beach as much as they liked. I, however, would do something good for society. It wasn't like society needed more dimwits like Ino.

After I had eaten breakfast, I walked to the library. Even though the distance was a bit far, the sun shone, and it would only do me good to get some fresh air. Therefore, I didn't take the bus, and instead used my own two feet.

The first day of summer vacation was hot. I only wore shorts, a singlet and sandals, but the warmth was still killing me. When I entered the library and felt the nice breeze of air conditioners, I breathed in relief. Whoever made sure there were air conditioners in the library deserved an award. I walked to a section with a lot of mathematics books. I had heard the math in upper secondary could be quite challenging, at least the harder math, so I thought I should come prepared.

I sat down at a nearby table, and placed the books before me. As I flipped the pages, I couldn't really understand what people had talked about. It seemed fairly easy to me. The parts I didn't understand, I wrote down. Luckily I had been smart enough to bring a notebook with me in my bag. An hour and a half passed, and I closed the books, thinking I deserved a break. I admired the surroundings. The library was quite something. It dated back to the 19th century, and quite liked the style it was made in.

After looking around the room for a while, I thought I could inspect the rest of the library. The times I had been there had been few. I had always used the library at school since it was much more convenient to go there after school than here. Actually, I was a pretty good reader and I had read a lot. Fantasy and science fiction had never been my two favourites though. I usually preferred more realistic literature. Despite that, I was currently standing before shelves with only books of the two genres mentioned earlier. I wondered why people liked to read about dragons, magic and aliens. Just knowing how unrealistic it was made it unattractive to me.

The library weren't full of people and I liked that. It was nice to have the place pretty much to myself. Though, there were more people who were interested in these types of books than the mathematics ones—that was for sure. To my displeasure, I heard two people I'd rather not meet.

"Naruto, I'm telling you, read the Lord of the Rings!" the mutt said. I froze where I stood. This was not going to be fun.

"It's so long…" Naruto complained. I scoffed. Of course that idiot couldn't even read a book.

"It's worth it!" Kiba tried to convince. Naruto murmured something I couldn't understand because of the distance, but I had no problem hearing them stop walking when they spotted me. Damn it. My back was turned against them and I closed my eyes, hoping they would just walk by without acknowledging my presence. Naruto coughed awkwardly. I chose to ignore that I even knew they were there, and grabbed a random book out of the shelf. Suddenly a shaggy mutt stood beside me.

"Didn't know you were a Twilight fan. Shouldn't have expected less from a girl like you, huh?" Kiba said. I looked at the book I held in my hands, and yup, in my hands was a copy of Twilight. The red apple reminded me of blood.

"So whom do you prefer?" he asked. "Edward or Jacob?" I gave him a puzzled look—not really knowing whom either of them was.

"I would take a guess on Edward," he smirked, "considering your fancy for brooding, mysterious guys." Even though I didn't know whom this Edward guy was, it didn't seem like a compliment. Rather, he was taunting me. I put the book back in place and turned to leave, ignoring him completely.

"You know, you still haven't apologized to Naruto!" he said loudly, making a couple of people turn to look at us. I stopped walking, but my face was still in the direction of the exit.

"Naruto deserves an apology!" Kiba repeated. I could hear Naruto tried to calm him down, telling him it was fine.

"It's not fine, Naruto!" Kiba bit. "That bitch tricked you! She fooled you, and she doesn't even care!" My face flushed at the word bitch. This was both humiliating and enraging. He didn't have to speak so loudly. I continued walking, but a hand grabbed my arm, and spun me around. Kiba's face was furious.

"Don't think you can treat people like dirt and get away with it," he growled lowly, so only I could hear it. "Naruto really likes you." My eyes widened a bit. He was using present tense, which meant he still liked me. Was he a masochist? Sasuke hadn't even done anything, and my love for him had faded that day. How come Naruto still liked me? After all, Kiba was right; I was a bitch.

Kiba let go off me and walked back to his friend. It took everything I got to turn my gaze up and lock my eyes with the blond's. He had an apologetic expression, which made my insides sting. Why did he always put others first? That stupid guy.

If it had been another girl that had hurt him like that, she would probably think this would be the perfect time to apologize. I wasn't another girl though. Instead of apologizing, I turned around and walked with steady steps out this section and into the section where I had been before. I sat down on a chair with a puff.

I knew Kiba was angry, but I hadn't expected him to follow me. He slammed his hand on the table. I disregarded his presence and begun scribbling in my notebook. With a stubborn growl, he sat down across the table. His eyes could probably see inside my skull as much as he was staring.

"Naruto, come here!" he yelled. Had he no decency? This was a library. Stupid mutt and his friend. Naruto approached in an awkward manner. He had a strained grimace in his face, which probably was supposed to be grin, and he scratched the back of his head.

"Sit!" Kiba ordered, and pointed at the seat next to him. The mutt ordered someone around. How ironic.

Naruto complied, but nudged Kiba in the side when he sat down. Kiba continued staring at me like he thought I would apologize if he stared long enough.

"It's creepy," I commented without raising my gaze. The meaningless whirls I drew really fascinated me. Neither of them said anything. Kiba only stared—or glared—and Naruto glanced at me now and then too. It's weird how you can feel someone's eyes on you.

After sitting there for some minutes, I got sick of it. Enough was enough. I clasped my notebook together and put it in my bag.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" Kiba shouted when I rose from my seat.

"Home," I simply responded. I walked past them and left the section. However, I didn't miss Kiba's growl.

It seemed it only had gotten warmer throughout the day. I felt like a vampire in the sun. Surely I would soon burn away to nothing. It was tempting to go to the beach, but how lame would it be to go there alone? Deciding it would be too lame, I walked home instead.

My mother's car was parked outside, meaning she was home. I couldn't find her in the house though. She was not in the living room, kitchen or her bedroom. I knocked on the bathroom door.

"Hello?" No answer. Well, that only meant one thing. I ran out in the backyard, spotting my mother hunching over a flowerbed. I bent down beside her.

"Your garden is so beautiful, mom," I told her. She smiled.

"I have a beautiful daughter that inspires me everyday," she replied. Little did she know what a horrible daughter she really had.

"Have you been on the beach with your friends?" Mom asked. I hesitated on answering.

"No, I went to the library," I said.

"Just don't overwork yourself," she looked at me, "It'ssummer vacation, you know." I nodded.

"Maybe I'll go to the beach tomorrow," I said. _Alone_, I added in my mind.

* * *

The sun was shining just as brightly the next morning. For once in my life I wished it rained. At least no one could go to the beach then, and suffer like me instead. I groaned. The breakfast in front of me didn't seem tempting in the least. What a loser I would be at the beach. I had decided to go though. Maybe, just _maybe_ I would get a tan. Most likely not. However, it was summer, and no time to be depressed.

I decided to take the bus this time. The beach wasn't far from the library, but the heat was too much for me. I sat down and leaned my head on the window. If I had someone to hang out with, this day would probably have been perfect. It was the perfect beach day. My luck sucked though. It even sucked so bad that _those two_ seated themselves on the seats behind me. I sunk in my own seat, hoping my pink hair would be out of sight.

"You should at least watch the movie, even if the books are too much for you."

"Is it really that good?"

"Are you kidding me? The Lord of the Rings is the best!" They were still talking about that? How lame. Almost as lame as me, I sulked. They continued chatting. It made me a bit jealous. Even a stupid guy like Naruto had friends. That was so unfair!

When it was time to get of the bus, I sunk even further down my seat, and put my bag over my head, hoping they wouldn't recognise me. They were going off at the same bus stop as me, and I was just thankful I hadn't had to go off first, because then they would've definitely noticed me.

When they rose from their seats, I got slapped in the back of my head.

So they had noticed.

They didn't say anything though, just walked off the bus without acknowledging my presence any further.

I felt like an idiot when I walked to the beach. The two boys were obviously on their way to the beach too, which made it seem like I were stalking them. Since I didn't want to get in another quarrel, or whatever it had been, with Kiba, I kept my distance. That was also what made me seem like a stalker. I contemplated on just running past them, but that would also make me feel stupid. I sighed. Why did life hate me?

The beach was filled with people. It made me a bit scared that I would perhaps meet other people from school. I found myself a place that was a bit secluded from the rest. Not that it was much privacy or space to get anyway.

There were a lot of families there. I had yet to spot any teenagers I knew. Kiba and Naruto were also out of my sight.

I couldn't bathe, because I had no one to watch my stuff. It didn't really matter. I had a huge fear for jellyfish, so it was best this way. After I had taken off my summer dress, I put a lot of sunscreen on my bikini clad body, hoping I wouldn't get sunburned. Ah, naïve wishes. I lay down on my towel and closed my eyes.

If I had been with friends now, the tanning time would shortly be followed by shopping. We would talk about guys—mainly Sasuke—and the latest trends. We would probably trash talk Ino and her skimpy followers, which now included my earlier friends too. I sighed. I lay on the beach alone. At least I would get tan. Or not.

Suddenly I heard shouts closing in on where I lay. The voices were familiar too. I slowly opened my eyes, adjusting to the sunlight. A few metres away Kiba ran after Naruto. He seemed pretty mad at him.

"Take that back!" he yelled. I leaned on my elbows to watch the amusing scene in front of me. Naruto was laughing, obviously not taking back whatever he had said. Kiba almost caught him, but Naruto managed to get away in the last minute. I started to chuckle when Kiba fell in a failed attempt to yank Naruto down.

All amusement was drained from my face when Naruto ran closer, obviously not seeing me there, and stumbled over my bag. All air was taken from my lungs the moment he fell over me, crushing my body under his. Naruto slowly got up on his knees and elbows. His face was hovering above mine. His eyes were looking at me in shock, but he didn't move. Was he thinking of just hovering above me like that?

He gulped, much like the time at the bonfire. He stared into my eyes. His cheeks were tinted with a blush that got redder and redder by every second. My own face started heating up by the sight of his. Suddenly Naruto was pushed to the side. A shaggy mutt stood above us.

"Hello, _Sakura_," he greeted in the most annoying way. I wanted to say 'Hi, bag of shit' back, but figured I should keep my hot temper at bay.

"You're blocking the sun," I remarked. Kiba smirked.

"Looks like you have an enjoyable time at the beach. _Alone_."

I gave him a good death-wishing glare. Naruto tried to stop Kiba from saying anything more by holding his hand over Kiba's mouth.

"Ew, you licked me!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Will you stop protecting her all the time?" Kiba shouted. "She hasn't even said she's sorry!"

"'Cause I'm not," I yelled out unwisely. It looked like Kiba was going to beat me into a bloody pulp. Instead he turned and walked away.

"Kiba, wa—" Naruto tried to say, but got interrupted by Kiba's frustrated scream. Naruto looked at me, a sheepish grin stuck on his face.

"Ehehe, I'm sorry," he scratched his cheek, "he's treated you kind of badly."

"You bet he has!" I snapped. A hand flew to my mouth the moment after. So much for controlling my temper. He didn't stop smiling. Instead he chuckled a forced chuckle and apologized for falling over me. I glared at him. Even though I felt a little guilty for using him at the field trip, I still blamed him for ruining the end of the school year. Naruto had been an annoying loser since I met him. To me it was natural that he was to blame.

"Do you want to meet us here tomorrow?" Naruto asked. My eyes squinted. Did he pity me? I didn't need pity just because my friends had left me. Thinking about it, wasn't it his fault?

"Do you know how humiliating that night by the bonfire was for me?" I asked. Naruto looked down. His fists were tightened in his lap.

"I thought…"

"Obviously you thought wrong! Kiba was right, why would I be interested in you after so many years?" I asked. He didn't answer that. His head was still bowed down, and his hair hid his eyes, which made it impossible for me to read what was in them.

"Are you so damn naïve? Did you think things would just fall into place for you? I understand I have hurt you, but you should also blame your own stupidity!" I said. Suddenly I was pinned down. Naruto's eyes looked intensely into mine, and they startled me. There was not only love visible in those blue eyes.

"Can you shut up?" he yelled, "You always act and talk like everything revolves around you. It's sickening! You got humiliated at the bonfire?" his hold around my wrists tightened, "Blame your own stupidity!" As fast as he had pinned me down, he let go off me and sat like he had done before with his hair hiding his eyes.

"I'm sorry. You don't have to come," he mumbled. He stood up and walked away without looking at me even once.

* * *

_**To be continued. **_

**If you think Sakura has been very annoying in this chapter, I've fulfilled my task!**

* * *

**EDIT: I started writing a story called Love From a Lie last year on my old computer. However, my computer suddenly wouldn't start, and I couldn't continue writing. I didn't have access to my story. Therefore I tried rewriting it, and Unintentional Love is the product of that. To my joy, my old computer got fixed, and I have access to the original story again! I read through it and realised I preferred that version. That means Unintentional Love will most likely be removed and replaced. The reason why I write 'most likely' is because I still haven't decided quite yet. _If _I replace this story with the original, it will either have the same name as here or it will be called Love From a Lie. I will give further information when I have decided on what to do. Thank you so much for the support you have given me so far! You're the best!**

Ruel-chan


	4. Not As Friendless

**Sooo... I decided against rewriting UL. Frankly I'm not pleased with every part of this story (especially not chapter 2, oh my... I can't even...), but the story has become dear to me in some way, I guess. Does that even make sense? **

**I'm terribly sorry for waiting so long with updating! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters mentioned by their names.**

* * *

**Unintentional Love**

**Chapter 4: Not As Friendless**

* * *

The start of my summer vacation had not been a thrill. It was not only the first two days that had been unpleasant. After Naruto had yelled at me, I had not been able to get his words out of my head. For a week I almost only lied in my bed with the duvet over my head. I barely ate or showered, and I knew my parents were worried. They had let me be, though. Only now and then had they forced me to eat something, or told me I should get out of my pyjamas.

My feelings were a roller coaster. I got angry with Naruto and his words made me want to break his neck. I got sad and the tears wouldn't stop flowing. I got depressed and I thought the world would be better off without me. I got angry again. I got indifferent and I would lie completely still for hours. Then I would get angry again.

When I decided it was time to get out of bed, the reflection of myself in the mirror made me want to cry. Since I had barely slept, the bags under my eyes looked like the ones of a 50-year-old lady that had smoked since she was 12. My hair wasn't in a much better condition. One week of living like a half-dead human truly changed the appearance of a person.

After I became a normal teenage girl again—well, a normal teenage girl without any friends—I decided to look positively on the summer vacation again. I went to the library to study. The library quickly became my least favourite place. Somehow it happened to be a place where I met a lot of old classmates.

One day I met the two lunch girls, my former friends, and they wouldn't stop taunting me before I swore I would kick their puny arses. Even though I did get rid of them, they send the brunette's older brother at me, who by the way got his ass kicked. Because of this I got a warning that if I ever sought to violence in the library ever again, I would be closed out from there forever. They didn't believe me when I said he was the one who tried to get me. I thought they took women's side on this kind of things.

On an even worse day, I met Ino. Because of the warning, I kept my cool no matter what she taunted me with. That meant I had to go through her verbal violence by only tightening my fists and gritting me teeth. I knew that if I opened my mouth, I would definitely end up strangling her. I was sure my temper could make me go from verbal to physical abuse pretty quickly after her betrayal. Leaving the library was a no-no. I refused to be the one backing down even though I had to ignore her. Therefore I spend way more time at the library than I had planned. She just wouldn't stop bugging me.

The third time I met a classmate, it was Sasuke. Even though he was somehow a friend of Naruto, he didn't go crazy on me like Kiba had. Not that I expected it either. Sasuke wasn't exactly the one to get easily hot-tempered. It wasn't precisely meeting him that was bad. He didn't say anything, which wasn't a surprise. When had he ever talked to me? It was really, really awkward, though. Just knowing that he knew I was there made me want to dig a hole in the ground and hide forever. Sometimes I couldn't stop staring either. Apparently my crush wasn't completely over. The warm, suffocating air outside gave more air to my lungs than the air conditioners of the library ever had when I stepped outside the library that day.

To meet old classmates hadn't been the biggest bummer, though. When my parents told me they would like to take a one-week trip to Sand, which I wasn't invited for, I had nearly started crying again. Instead I broke the bathroom mirror with my fist. They told me they would like a romantic trip together now that they finally had some free time. I didn't have the consciousness to refuse them. After all, I knew they worked hard, and their daughter was already high maintenance.

Their departure made me feel ten thousand times lonelier. Now I neither had friends nor parents. It didn't make me feel free or joyful to have the whole house alone.

"It's like a house of ghosts," I mumbled. My location was currently in front of the TV, which it had been for most of the time when my parents were in Sand.

It was the last day before their arrival, and I couldn't help thinking of what a useless time my vacation had been so far. I had met unpleasant people—Sasuke would maybe be taken out of that category—I had lied in my bed for a week, and now I had spent another week in front of the TV. If this continued I _would_ probably become one of those people who spend all their vacation on computer games.

I pinched my stomach fat and sighed. I had even gone up in weight. The week in front of the TV had consisted of chips, candy, soda, more chips, more candy etc. Why did my commitment always falter? I slammed my fist on the sofa, much like I had on the kitchen counter. I _was _becoming a lame loser; even after telling myself I wouldn't. I had once read somewhere that you have to meet your fear. Therefore I figured that if I met my biggest fear, I would refrain from losing myself forever in front of a screen with magical trolls and orcs.

It was time to meet my one of my biggest fears. It was time to fight it.

I would go to the beach and search for jellyfish!

* * *

My search for jellyfish had yet to succeed. It wasn't because there weren't any jellyfish; rather I was sure there were plenty. Therefore I still sat on the beach, and only stared at the water filled with playing children and jellyfish. I had yet to dress down to the bikini. I sighed. This wasn't going exactly as planned. My plan was to take of the T-shirt and shorts as soon as I arrived, and just jump into the water without thought. Unfortunately I started to think.

This was ridiculous. Time flew, and I was sitting on the beach alone, staring at the sparkling water. _Jellyfish _was hindering my fun in swimming in the sea. Instead of becoming a mermaid, I was stuck on this shore with my stupid two legs! This had to end.

I took off my clothes, only sporting my green bikini. I left my stuff near a family, which I found unlikely to steal any of my stuff. With steady steps I strode down to the water.

The water hit my feet, and then retracted. Then it hit my feet again and retracted. It wasn't as warm as I imagined it would be, but it felt nice against my warm feet. I took a step further into the water, then another step. I stopped when the water reached my belly button. The jellyfish had yet to show themselves, but that only frightened me more. Were they the hide and attack type of animal? I wouldn't know. After knowing they could sting, I hadn't wanted to know anything more about them.

I started swimming. It felt quite nice until I felt something touch my feet. At first I wanted to scream and swim into land as fast as possible. Apparently it was only seaweed, and I was rather glad I hadn't started screaming for nothing. I looked around me. I wasn't stupid; I wasn't planning swimming directly towards the jellyfish, but I thought that maybe if I saw one on a close distance, it wouldn't seem so scary.

Suddenly I noticed a red thing a few metres in front of me. Fear hit me. It was definitely one of the stinging demons. I started to swim towards the shore, but stopped when I heard Naruto's voice in my head. I couldn't figure out what he was saying, though. Would he never leave my head? For a week he had bugged me and made me lie in the bed as a zombie, and yet he wasn't satisfied? I would show him. Sakura Haruno would show him that she feared no jellyfish.

I swam back again, and, oddly enough, I wanted to see the red-lighting jellyfish. It didn't take long until I saw it again. I swam towards it before I started thinking. Thoughts wouldn't hinder me this time. My plan would succeed. I would meet that jellyfish. It was a war between the jellyfish and me! It was only about two metres away from me now. If I had read about jellyfish, I would've probably known that their long tentacles could reach me from that distance. I hadn't though. Suddenly an excruciating pain hit me. It was like a prickling pain. It burned.

I started to scream. In desperation I tried to swim back, but I didn't get very far. I was afraid. Would it follow me? It burned. I screamed again. Suddenly two hands held around me. When the water didn't reach longer than that we could stand, two arms lifted me up in bridal style. I began to cry. The tears wouldn't stop; it hurt so much.

I was laid down on a towel. The guy that had lifted me asked someone beside us if they had aloe vera. I guessed they had, because he started putting the ointment on my body.

"You got stung on your stomach, right?" he asked. I nodded. I didn't open my eyes to get a proper look at him. It wasn't necessary. The small glimpse of his blonde hair and whiskers that I had gotten when he lifted me up had already told me. It was Naruto.

"Where else were you stung?" he asked.

"My thighs," I hiccupped, "and my ass." I didn't need to open my eyes to know he was flustered. He hesitated on putting the aloe vera on my thighs.

"M-maybe you should fix your… behind yourself," he mumbled. I slightly opened my eyes and nodded. When he lied the aloe vera down beside me, I gripped hold on his hand.

"Naruto, I'm sorry," I cried, "I'm sorry." He shushed me, and told me it was all right. I didn't understand why I was apologizing. Was it because he had saved me? Or maybe, I thought, maybe it was because of the field trip.

"I heard your voice," I mumbled, after I was full of aloe vera, and the family had gotten their ointment back. "I thought it was only in my head, but you really were there." Naruto didn't know what to say. He just sat next to me.

"You know, I lay in my bed a week thinking of what you said," I said.

His eyes widened, and then he looked sadly at the sand. "I'm sorry…"

"It annoyed the heck out of me. I thought you were pretentious. I had thoughts like 'Who does he think he is?' Then I would cry." He mumbled an apology again.

"You're not really pretentious, are you?" I sighed. "_I'm_ pretentious." He looked at me like he wanted to disagree, but he didn't say anything. There was nothing to deny anyway.

"You're weird. You make me say all of these things." I rubbed my eyes. More tears were threatening to fall, and I was sure a few were already running down my cheeks.

"Why are you so nice to me?" I cried. "You have no taste in women." Naruto started chuckling. I gave him an angry look.

"It's not funny!" It felt a bit insulting that he laughed at my serious words. I hiccupped and dried my tears.

"Sakura, if you want to, you can hang out with us tomorrow," Naruto said. He was a daring idiot, wasn't he?

"I doubt Kiba would like that," I replied. He seemed a little surprised that I responded like I wanted to be with them. I didn't have much choice, did I? I had spent so much time alone since the field trip. The vacation had only been a continuation from that.

"It's fine, it'll be Shikamaru and Chouji too," he said. I sighed. The loser bunch.

"Since I don't take it as pity… I guess I'll come," I said slowly. Naruto grinned.

"Great! We'll meet up at the beach at twelve, whaddyasay?" I almost pinched myself to not react at the way he spoke.

"Twelve sounds nice."

My parents had arrived late at the evening the same day. They said they were too worried about me to stay another second. If they had met me earlier that day, they would've probably had a reason for their worry, considering I had been a TV-sitting-candy-eating loner. When they came home, however, I was running on the treadmill, desperately chasing the calories off my body.

My mother had smiled when I told her I had been at the beach that day. I cleverly refrained from telling them about all the other days they had been gone.

The running had helped clear my thinking. When I went to bed that night, I thought of how Naruto saved me. He was nice. It felt like someone tightened their hold on my stomach, but I ignored the feeling. Guilt was unnecessary… was probably what I thought. Maybe I felt to guilty to feel guilt.

I knew Kiba wouldn't be pleased to see me. How Shikamaru and Chouji would feel was impossible for me to know, but I assumed they wouldn't be too happy about it either. I had never been extremely nice to any of them. It was fine, though. I would find a way to break through the earlier barrier of miscommunication—or hate—and the awkwardness of a bully hanging out with its victims.

I started the next morning with a good run at the treadmill. After I had eaten breakfast, I started carrying out my plan, Operation Get Four Losers To Like Me, shortened OGFLTLM, and shortened again to _my plan_.

I made a wonderful lunch to get the fatty's praise. To Shikamaru I found old pictures of Ino—before she became a makeup monster. I knew that lazy ass liked Ino. The hardest one was Kiba. I had no idea what to give him that would make him even consider me a friend. Luckily I remembered a bet we had elementary school. The prize had been a stuffed dog Kiba owned. Unfortunately for Kiba, I won. Honestly, I thought the dog looked ridiculous, but I hadn't given it to him when he asked me. I was too proud, I guess. Now he would finally get his beloved _Akamaru_, as he had called it, back.

I didn't plan anything to Naruto. After all, he didn't dislike me, even though he was probably hurt. I had said sorry, hadn't I? Who knows what I said sorry for, but in this case I thought it was best if it was for that unpleasant incident some months earlier.

My mother looked oddly at me when told her I had plans with friends before I ran out the door. _My plan_ would definitely succeed. I just had to be the best friend they ever knew.

I would befriend the loser bunch.

* * *

_**To be continued.**_

**I think I've made Sakura have emotions like a roller coaster, like myself, lol. Perhaps it feels a bit rushed that she would suddenly agree to spend time with Naruto, but remember she has been alone since the field trip, so it's loneliness, I guess? And preparing gifts to get someone to like her... I don't know, I guess I found it kind of Sakura-ish.**

**LOL. Suddenly I realise that right after I had written that her parents left for Sand, I write that its the last day before they come back. xD Please don't be confused. It's just that it would've been pointless to write in detail about how she spent time in front of the TV and ate food that's bad for you. **

**By the way, it really hurts to get stung by a jellyfish. Seriously, it happened to me six years ago, and I'm still scared of saltwater. I cried and cried, and my father barked at me, "Don't cry!" Parents can be harsh sometimes, huh? **

**Anyway, thank you for reading! :)**


	5. The Loser Bunch

**Ohmyohmy, I'm updating two chapters at once! Iiik! ... I seriously need to sleep more... **

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.**

* * *

**Unintentional Love**

**Chapter 5: The Loser Bunch**

* * *

The sun shone. The roads were dusty. My summer dress moved with the occasional breezy wind puffs. A smile was placed on my face. The beach was right in front of me. I would have someone to hang out with. Ah, life was fair.

I had brought with me all the necessary things that would make those boys love me. The lunch, the pictures, and the ugly dog were all packed in my bag. I would smile and wave as soon as I saw them. That would make me look sweet and girly. I had read in a magazine that boys like sweet and girly girls. _Except for Naruto_, I thought. He had thought the boxer in the news had been attractive. _Like you._ I blushed. I waved to get the thoughts out of my head.

"Why are you waving like a weirdo?" someone asked behind me. I turned around and spotted Kiba.

"What are you doing here?" I asked in disbelief.

"That's my question, weirdo," Kiba sneered, "I hadn't actually believed you would come even though Naruto told me you would." He scanned me. "But whaddyasee." I closed my eyes a split second to not rage at the way he spoke. Why did they speak like that?

"That wasn't what I meant," I looked at him huffily, "_Why _are you late?"

"Hey, you're late too!" he accused with a finger pointed at me.

"It's cute when the girl is late!" I stated.

"Says who?"

"The maga—No one!" I turned my head in an offended matter. I scanned the beach while Kiba was yawning next to me.

"Has anyone come yet?" I asked.

"Pro'ly not," he rose his shoulders, "but Chouji and Shikamaru will most likely come soon."

"What about Naruto?"

"Dude, Naruto's rarely on time," he answered.

"I'm not a dude," I mumbled behind gritted teeth.

"Wha'?"

I huffed. "It's nothing."

We found a nice place to sit. I took off the dress and put on sunscreen. It was awkward with only us two. Kiba had no evident interest in befriending me, and I didn't want to give him the stuffed dog before everyone was there. I had to show my kindness in front of everybody. That way, I thought, _my plan_ would be more efficient.

I had my eyes on the most likely entrance to the beach the whole time. As soon as I saw one of them, I would smile and wink. The magazine had said you needed a sweet smile. _Like you're glad to see them, but not clingy_, I thought. I remembered the magazine also had said that you shouldn't get mad at the other part if they were late, which I had already messed up once.

I waited. I waited. I waited. _Do they know when twelve o'clock is_? I was about to jokingly ask Kiba if they thought it was twelve o'clock at the night, but I got surprised by a voice next to us before I got to pronounce the first letter.

"Hey, guys! Oh, Sakura, you're here already? I'm glad!" I looked at Naruto in disbelief. Was he magical? I had stared and stared and stared, but no one had come.

"You're here before Shikamaru and Chouji? You actually woke up before two o'clock?" Kiba asked jokingly.

"The fact that your mother wakes you up is not something to boast about, Kiba," Naruto retorted. Kiba scoffed.

"Naruto, you shocked me," I tried to speak as sweet and girly as possible, "where did you come from?" My voice was strained.

"I took a quicker road through the woods," he pointed behind him, "there." I leaned to the left to see past him. So he took another way, did he? Well, it was still time to wave and smile sweetly at Shikamaru and Chouji.

"There's a wasp behind you," Kiba commented. At first I didn't understand that it was me he meant. Then I felt something small barely touching my shoulder.

"Now it's on your shoulder." I screamed. Loudly. As loudly as a girl can. I slapped my shoulder to get the creature away. In an abrupt motion I stood up, and waved my arms at the wasp, running back and forth at the beach. It seemed to hunt me.

"Someone get the creature away! GET IT AWAY!" I screamed again. The wasp was right in front of me now, and I waved my arms at it to get it away. I didn't notice the two boys that walked down the beach.

"HELLO!" I screamed at Naruto and Kiba to make them do something. I kept waving my arms. Suddenly I saw someone waving their hand awkwardly at me. It was Shikamaru. I completely stopped moving. My previous waving limbs hung down my sides. My waving and smiling plan had gone in the drain _again_. I felt a sting on my shoulder. The screaming continued. I ran to Naruto.

"It stung me! It stung me!"

"Does it hurt?"

"Do something!" I cried. He didn't seem to know what to do, but got closer to me, and blew on my shoulder where he could see a small mark.

"You're not allergic I hope?" Naruto asked.

"No, it just hurts," I mumbled, slightly bothered that he blew on my shoulder. It felt weird. Shikamaru and Chouji approached us. So the start hadn't been that great. The wave-and-smile-sweetly plan was ruined. Instead, I had run around while screaming, and screamed 'hello', which the two latest arriving had thought was a greeting to them.

I still had more up my sleeves. I would show them I was a sweet and girly girl.

"Kiba, would you help me with my back?" Naruto was putting on sunscreen. I noticed he was quite tan. It made me slightly jealous.

"No," Kiba answered. Naruto pouted.

"I'll do it," I offered. I smiled sweetly.

"Why do you do that with your face?" Kiba asked.

"Do what?"

"You pull a strange grimace or something." _That guy_. Couldn't he see I was smiling sweetly? He should've blushed, not said it looked like a weird grimace!

"I'm… in pain," I lied.

"The sting hurts a lot?" Naruto asked. I grabbed the sunscreen he held out to me, and seated myself behind him.

"Yeah, kind of…" I had never put sunscreen on a guy before. His back was much broader than a girl's.

"What do you guys usually do at the beach?" I asked in an effort to start a conversation.

"Sleep."

"Eat."

"I dunno. Check out the ladies."

"Swim." I had to compose myself to not give them a cruel remark. They really were a loser bunch.

"You never surf? Today's a great day for surfing."

Kiba laughed. "Yeah… No way I would wear that stupid wetsuit when I can rather look at ladies in bikinis," he said. _Maybe you would actually have a girlfriend if you put on a wetsuit and surfed_, I thought.

"Too much trouble…"

"You can't eat the surfboard."

"Swimming feels nice." I had to agree with Naruto. Though I had barely swum before I got attacked by the red-lighting demon, it had been fun swimming.

"You think guys that surf look cool?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, there is something manly over them," I said, deep in thought about surfing guys. Kiba snorted. I glared at him over Naruto's shoulder, but he only sneered at me. He obviously wouldn't admit that the guys that surfed were much cooler than him any day in the week.

"If you join me, I wouldn't mind trying out surfing," Naruto said, and turned his head back to look at me. Coincidentally I was leaning closer to him, trying to sit more comfortably at the same time. Our faces were dangerously close.

"Kyaa!" I screamed, and gripped my arm around his throat like I was going to strangle him.

"Sakura, what are you doing?" Kiba yelled.

"S-Saku… ra… can't… breathe," Naruto puffed. I let go off him and looked at him with fearful eyes. I had just messed up. This was worse than messing up the wave-and-smile-sweetly plan. It would be hard to convince them I was a sweet and girly girl. There was no other choice but to give it a shot, though.

I held my hands in fists in front of my cheeks like I had seen cute girls on the Internet had done. "I-I got scared," I stuttered.

"Why?" Kiba asked.

"Why are you holding up your fists like you're up for a fight?" Chouji asked. That fatty. It was cute! Naruto began to laugh awkwardly.

"I'm sure she was just surprised," he mumbled, but the way he held his hands in front of him like he was on guard didn't make it seem like he believed that.

"Girls are violent," Shikamaru commented. My head spun in his direction.

"My, Shika, you're such a funny guy," I said in a cute voice. "Ehehe," I laughed. Kiba looked at me like I was a nutcase. Neither of the other guys seemed to think it was particularly cute either. It was time to take out the big gun. I gave Naruto his sunscreen back and reached for my bag. They would definitely love me if they saw what I had brought with me.

"Hey, Kiba, let's swim!" Naruto suddenly exclaimed.

"Nah, man."

"There's only families with elementary kids here. Don't tell me you're a paedophile?" Naruto looked at him in disgust.

"No! Tch, let's swim." Kiba and Naruto left to swim before I got to bring out the gun.

"Wait!" I yelled after them.

"You want to swim?" Naruto asked a bit surprised.

"No…"

"We'll be right back!" he said, and then they left to swim. That meant neither Shikamaru nor Chouji could get their gifts either. I had to make them all see my generosity. If the other boys saw when I gave one boy a wonderful gift, then I would look extra generous when they got one too. I was like Santa Claus…ine.

When Kiba and Naruto came back, Shikamaru had fallen asleep and Chouji was still eating. They were the strangest pair of fellows I had ever seen. I lay on my towel and burned to ashes in the hot sun. I had tried to start a conversation with Chouji, but after every sentence I had said, he would ask me 'Is it edible?'. A Gucci purse is not edible!

"Sorry, we were a bit longer than we had planned," Naruto said when they came back.

"Yeah, but we have a good excuse, though," Kiba grinned, "the two hottest girls ever talked to us. Can you believe it?"

"Hardly," I murmured under my breath.

"Why did you come back so early then?" Chouji asked.

"They kinda… thought we were lame," Kiba said sheepishly.

"It was probably when you couldn't stop talking about the Lord of the Rings that they got that idea," Naruto remarked. Kiba huffed. He seemed a little down. This was my chance to look good!

"You know, I've brought something for you!" I said. Kiba and Naruto looked at each other. I reached for my bag again.

"You have to wake Shikamaru, though," I said while I searched for their gifts. Shikamaru yawned when Kiba gave him a kick to his side.

"Sakura has something to give us," he told him. I smiled when I found the lunch box. All four boys looked at me.

"First, I want to give something to Chouji." I reached out the lunch box. "Here you go! I've made it myself." Chouji's eyes lit up, and I couldn't help inwardly praising myself. I looked at him in anticipation when he took a bite. When he stopped at one bite, and threw the lunch box from his lap, I got a little worried. Chouji ran to the nearest bush to spit it out.

"Was it bad?" I mumbled. I reached for to lunch box to taste it myself. As soon the food entered my mouth, I wanted to puke. What was that? I ran frantically after Chouji and spit the food out. So that went well. In my mind, I gave myself a slap. At least I knew that I would never cook for my future husband. He would definitely want to divorce me after tasting the cooking from hell, which I fondly named it.

I knew the next gift would be better. When Chouji and I had gotten over the horrible lunch, I gave Shikamaru his gift. I had laid the pictures inside an envelope. With childlike eyes, I looked at him opening the envelope.

"It's… pictures of Ino?" he asked. I nodded. He didn't react as I thought he would though. I thought he would blush, cough, blush again, awkwardly thank me, and blush again. Instead he just looked at them with plain eyes.

"You… like her, right?"

"Who? Ino?" I slowly nodded. He… didn't?

"Ah, so troublesome. I used to like her, yes. Now she's rather despicable." So the second gift wasn't good enough either. Well, the third would definitely be a hit! I knew how much Kiba loved Akamaru.

"Here!" I said, and nudged the stuffed dog in his face. He gripped it and gave it a weird look.

"It was the prize in third grade, remember? You bet that I wouldn't win over you in arm-wrestling, but I did. This stuffed dog was the prize, and you cried when you had to give it to me. Well, I'm giving it back!" I gave him a sweet smile.

"Yeah, thanks… that's… awkward," he replied.

"Why?" The gift was perfect!

"I'm not an eight-year-old boy anymore."

"But the stuffed dog is… cute," I said.

"Yeah, the disgusted grimace on your face is telling me that," Kiba snorted. How rude! I sat down sulkily. My plan didn't go as planned at all. Also, I found out that I couldn't cook, I couldn't blackmail Shikamaru if I ever found the need to, and it would be impossible to befriend Kiba.

"What about me?" Naruto suddenly asked.

"What?"

"You gave all three of them something, but not me?" He looked at me in disbelief.

"I… have given you something," I retorted.

"What?" he asked.

"… I came?"

"That's… nice."

"What, it isn't?" I snapped. I slapped my hand to my mouth as quickly as I had said that. Even though I had wanted to stop acting like that, I had been bitchy again. It didn't matter if I had come or not. The issue was that he didn't get a present. An idea hit me.

"I have something for you too," I said. I walked up to him and stood on my tiptoes. He blushed when my face was close to his. Then I gave him a kiss. It was just a quick kiss on the cheek, but it made him astonished enough to not reply after we called his names a few times. At least one of my gifts succeeded.

* * *

After we spent an hour more at the beach, we went to Naruto's place to play video games. He lived with his older cousin Karin, who based on what the boys said, was rarely there. Therefore they usually used his place to hang out. It was a simple but nice apartment. I couldn't help but notice it wasn't very clean, though. The place was obviously resided by Naruto. Right before we entered the living room, there was a door with 'Naruto' written on it. It was written on an orange sign with white letters. The orange colour made me snicker.

"What?" Naruto asked. I pointed at the sign.

"It's very you," I said.

"If you see inside his room, you will see that it is even more like him. Filled with empty ramen cups, clothes everywhere… I'm not sure if you can even see the floor," Kiba said. A rosy tint was visible on Naruto's cheeks.

"Can I look?" I asked.

"No!" Naruto stood in front of his room, hindering us in getting past him. I gave him a sceptic look.

"What's so bad in there that I can't look?" Naruto just shook his head to tell me I wouldn't be able to get in there no matter what. Challenges were my forte.

"Like I told you, it's a complete mess," Kiba explained. His simple explanation didn't cure my curiosity. Naruto refused to move away from the door before we walked into the living room.

The living room consisted of a TV, a sofa, two armchairs, a thing to play video games with, and a shelf. Shikamaru quickly found his place in an armchair, which seemed to be the spot where he usually sat. Kiba sat on the other armchair. Chouji, Naruto and I placed us in the sofa with Naruto in the middle. I didn't really understand a lot of what went on from there on. They fought about which game we would play, and as I understood it, they agreed on some fighting game.

When Naruto and Kiba played against each other, they were shouting at each other, at the characters on the game, at the controllers and even at us, the bystanders, when we got 'too annoying' according to them. I could barely breathe before I was called a distraction. They were both sore losers and boastful winners. I had never found either of them less attractive. The worse ending of a game was when one of them claimed the other had cheated, and therefore they fought about who _really_ won.

"Does it really matter who won?" I asked, which didn't turn out to be the best question I could ask. Kiba scoffed.

"Sakura, you really are stupid when it comes to games, aren't you? _Of course_ it matters!" he said. Kiba and Naruto started a new game.

"It's not like you're less crazy about winning when it comes to bets," Naruto commented, though his eyes were still clearly busy looking at the screen.

"Hey! I'm not crazy about winning!" I said offended. Kiba scoffed again.

"The Akamaru-thing in in third grade. You hungered for victory," he said. I squinted my eyes.

"Wow, I wanted to win _once_ when we were eight years old," I mocked.

"Actually there was that time by the bon…" Naruto's sentence trailed off. My gaze quickly found the floor very interesting.

"Which totally doesn't matter anymore," Naruto quickly added.

"Just be quiet!" Kiba said, "we're playing!" I looked at Naruto. He seemed to have forgiven me, but maybe he actually felt resentful. For some reason I cared.

"Where's Shikamaru?" I asked. I suddenly noticed he wasn't sitting in the armchair.

"Be quiet!" Kiba yelled.

"He's out on the terrace. There are clouds on the sky, so he's probably watching those," Naruto said. I could remember that he liked clouds. Ino used to tell me he was boring because of that. They had grown up together, Ino, Shikamaru and Chouji. I decided to leave the game nerds and the chips-maniac and search for Shikamaru.

"Hi," I said, when I found him at the terrace, like Naruto had told me. He opened one eye, and looked at me.

"Hi," he repeated after me. I sat down on the chair next to his. The earlier clear, blue sky had now a few dots of white here and there.

"That one looks like our old teacher," I said, and pointed up at the sky. Shikamaru gave me quick glance. He then pointed up at another cloud.

"That one looks like a chicken." I giggled. It really did.

"That one looks like Akamaru," I smiled. "It looks just as weird."

"Do you see those two clouds there?" Shikamaru asked. I looked at where he pointed.

"Yeah," I answered.

"They kind of look like my mom and dad when she's giving him a earful." That made me laugh hysterically, which earned me a weird look from Shikamaru. I stifled my laughter.

"Sorry…"

Shikamaru smiled. "You're not as bad as I thought you were," he stated. I looked at him a little offended.

"What do you mean?" I pouted.

"Maybe you've changed, but you used to remind me of Ino. You both seemed so full of yourselves." His comment made me sad. I wasn't really such an angel now either.

"I'm pretty judgemental," I told him.

"I know," he replied, "just never call Chouji a fatty. He'll kill you." I gasped.

"How did you know?" I asked. He didn't answer, but only smiled. Shikamaru was a weird guy, and he was probably a boring guy too, like Ino had said. I didn't mind that he was such a loser, though.

After a few weeks of hanging out with them, I became better at video games, and I got a little fond of them. They started calling me 'Saku', which I first yelled at them for, but then it made me feel special.

Kiba didn't seem to hate me as much, though he still would criticise me and scoff at things I said. I learned that there was more to Chouji than chips and a round stomach. He was probably the opposite of me—kind. Shikamaru's analysing skills freaked me out. It was impossible to beat him at a game that required logical thinking, even though I counted myself as a pretty smart person too.

Naruto's energetic personality got more evident after awhile, and I learned to appreciate that side of him. At first he had acted like he contained himself for my sake. I couldn't blame him. I used to hate that part of him. Now he was more like a sun that brightened any bad situation. His will to never give up was admirable. They grew on me, those boys.

If someone had said it to me then, I would've denied it and said they were crazy. There was no reason to deny it, though.

I was becoming a member of the loser bunch.

* * *

_**To be continued.** _

_**Bitchy Sakura is getting friends? *gasp* What is happening to the world?!**_


End file.
